31 Weeks Pregnant!

31 weeks pregnant! WOW!

We are officially into the single digit countdown now with only NINE weeks left until our 'coconut sized" baby boy or baby girl is due to arrive!

I want to start off this post by reassuring you that my feet are NOT actually a mens size 9/10. Logan's boots were just conveniently by the front door while I was on my way outside to take this picture and at 31 weeks pregnant I was not prepared to bend over and attempt to put my own boots on, because that takes way too much effort and oxygen.

So, now that we've established that I am not actually big foot, lets talk B A B Y + mama !

My Ovia app alerts me every Friday morning with my newest baby tidbits for the week, as well as fun facts and every day updates and I LOVE reading alllll about how my baby is developing.

• At 31 weeks pregnant baby now approximately weighs 3.5 pounds and is about 17.5 inches long!

• All of babes senses are now operating together!

• Babes immune system is just about ready- the only thing to complete it, is some experience outside of the womb!

• Babes is moving more & more now that his/her neck and joints are becoming more and more flexible with each additional day inside!

Did you know that babies are born with more neural connections than we have?!

Fun Fact: ALL my stretch marks came from my first pregnancy only!

I am now down to bi-weekly obstetrician appointments and at my doctors appointment last week baby had a heart beat of 141 and was not yet head down.

My doctor and I also talked about our plans for labor + delivery now that we are getting closer and closer to babes due date AND he confirmed that both my husband & birth photographer are allowed to be in the delivery room, pending that our current covid hospital restrictions remain the same until then. (Fingers crossed🤞🏻)

Our decided on plan of execution? My doctor and I once again agreed that will head to the hospital as soon as my contractions become regular. If you didn't know, Logan & I do live 1 hour + 15 minutes from the hospital assuming, we won't be driving in a Canadian blizzard this time and my past labors have proven to fast ones and we do not want to risk delivering on the side of highway 28 in the middle of winter.

Thanks but nah.

My doctor also touched base on a few things pregnancy related:

1. Mama is now up to a total of 9-pounds gained so far, leaving me at 169 lbs, which my doctor reminds me is not a lot of weight gain and that healthy weight gain leads to a healthy weight for babe. However, I have not gained weight in my last 2 pregnancies either (even lost weight while pregnant with Kharter) so we don't have any room for concern at the moment.

2. Hemorrhoids. If you are planning to have a baby then you may as well get familiar with the term! I developed these beauties during my pregnancy with Kharter and they stuck around ever since and tend to cause a lot of pain nearing the end of all my pregnancies, soo I have started a steroid cream.

3. Prolapse. I have started back at physiotherapy for the remainder of my pregnancy as well as postpartum, before my doctor checks things out to determine whether or not surgery will be needed.

4. Anemia + low Ferritin. Although my gestational diabetes test came back negative, my blood work did show that I am dangerously anemic and further testing showed that I have severely low ferritin levels too, which isn't healthy for myself or baby. Not treating low hemoglobin and low ferritin in pregnancy has shown to increase the risk of preterm labour, low birth weight for babes, postpartum depression for mama (yeah, no thanks I am already at risk) and some smaller studies even show an increase in sudden death just before birth or right after. With being as far along as I am, we decided that iron supplement pills weren't the best course of treatment since my levels were so low and we decided on IV Transfusion. (There will be a blog on this experience in the next coming weeks after all my treatments are done.)

Aside from all these fun side affects of pregnancy, baby is looking healthy and I am soaking in every moment during these last few weeks of my LAST PREGNANCY EVER!

Some symptoms I've been dealing with this past week are:

• Restless leg syndrome.

• Daytime fatigue accompanied with pregnancy insomnia.

• Still battling Pubic Symphysis Disorder but I am much please to say my condition is not as bad as it was during my last pregnancy with Sawyer.

• Shortness of breath.

• Panic attacks have started to come back, as well as increased anxiety as I get closer to having babe.

Thank you for taking the time to read all about babes + I during our 31 weeks bumpdate! If you want to keep up to date on our future bumpdates to come, feel free to subscribe to us!

Acacia!